Two Wheels To Nowhere

wonders-of-the-cosmos:

In this Feb. 7, 1984 photograph taken by his fellow crewmembers aboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Challenger on the STS-41B mission, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless II approaches his maximum distance from the vehicle. McCandless became the first astronaut to maneuver about in space untethered, during this first “field” tryout of a nitrogen-propelled, hand-controlled backpack device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). Credit: NASA

This was one of my favourite posters as a teenager. Trying to imagine what Bruce must be feeling at that moment hanging like a lonely, vulnerable spec above Earth. An incredible human experience that only a handful of people have ever experienced.